Cedar Hill Associates LLC grew its stake in Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ) by 7.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,539 shares of the cell phone carrier’s stock after buying an additional 968 shares during the quarter. Cedar Hill Associates LLC’s holdings in Verizon Communications were worth $681,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of VZ. Financial Gravity Wealth Inc. acquired a new position in Verizon Communications in the 1st quarter worth about $128,000. Rainier Group Investment Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the first quarter valued at approximately $134,000. Elmwood Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the first quarter valued at approximately $146,000. Emerald Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the second quarter valued at approximately $174,000. Finally, Clarus Wealth Advisors acquired a new position in shares of Verizon Communications during the second quarter valued at approximately $182,000. 64.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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VZ stock opened at $54.90 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.04. The company has a market capitalization of $222.74 billion, a PE ratio of 14.68, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.71. Verizon Communications Inc. has a 1 year low of $43.97 and a 1 year high of $55.90.

Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 24th. The cell phone carrier reported $1.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $32.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $31.78 billion. Verizon Communications had a return on equity of 38.62% and a net margin of 23.88%. The business’s revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.96 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Verizon Communications Inc. will post 4.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 10th will be given a $0.6025 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 9th. This is a positive change from Verizon Communications’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.59. This represents a $2.41 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.39%. Verizon Communications’s dividend payout ratio is 64.44%.

A number of brokerages have commented on VZ. Zacks Investment Research cut Verizon Communications from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 1st. Moffett Nathanson reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $56.00 target price on shares of Verizon Communications in a report on Tuesday, September 4th. Barclays cut Verizon Communications from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $56.00 to $50.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 4th. Scotiabank set a $61.00 target price on Verizon Communications and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 25th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Verizon Communications from $52.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 25th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. The company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $55.42.

Verizon Communications Profile

Verizon Communications Inc, through its subsidiaries, offers communications, information, and entertainment products and services to consumers, businesses, and governmental agencies worldwide. The company's Wireless segment provides wireless voice and data services; Internet access on various notebook computers and tablets; multimedia, business-focused, and location-based services, as well as international travel services; and network access services to deliver various Internet of Things products and services.